So what is the thinking on solar panels at the moment?
From the brief research I have done, solar panels have a 20-25 year shelf life and a 12-18 year ROI. Thats not amazing. I guess if electricity prices shoot up long term then it makes a lot more sense but seeing how the world is ultimately moving to electricity and renewables you would hope that we will increase generation a lot and prices might even come down.
I suppose it depends on what else you'd do with the money, or if you are struggling etc. Payback time will vary massively depending on the price you pay for the system upfront, and how much energy your property consumes each year. I wanted solar, so I looked at it like any other appliance I would buy for the house, the benefits for me (having a battery backup), I can power my house most days from the energy I make from spring until autumn, as I built a system that was way bigger than the energy I consume, and any excess is stored, no more power cuts, my whole house has a UPS now, and if I want I can charge my car from it as well. TO me it is a QoL investment, and something I wanted, much like a holiday, or a new TV etc. I didn't look at it as just an expense with a hope of it paying itself back, how quickly does wallpaper or carpet pay for itself? You get where I am coming from...
As panel technology move forward I plan on selling the old panels in 10 years (ish) in the last 10 they've gone from 220-250w, to 370-410w for the same sized panels, and the price per watt is a fraction of what it was 10 years ago, I'm hoping they will hit 550-600w per panel by then, will need to add a second inverter or buy a new one as well.
.
.
